New York State Extends Brownfield Cleanup Program

Governor Cuomo announced that the 2015-2016 State Budget has successfully passed. As part of this budget, the Governor and the State Legislature have agreed to extend the Brownfield Cleanup Program (BCP) for ten years and modify the financial incentives that are part of the BCP. This is great news for private sector companies that have been considering entering into the BCP Program but were uncertain of its life span.

For applicants that apply and are accepted into the program by July 1, 2015, there are almost no changes to the current structure/tax incentives of the BCP Program. Most of the changes in the BCP Program going forward apply to sites that apply to the BCP and are accepted after July 1, 2015.

Highlights of some of the program changes include:

There are new sunsets for the BCP program (regarding Certification of Completion dates);

There are a number of changes to the way tax credits are allocated for Sites accepted after July 1, 2015 including changes to the Tangible Property Tax Credit (TPCC) and Site Preparation Credit Component (SPCC); andHighlights of some of the program changes include:

There are other significant changes for sites accepted into the program after July 1, 2015 including: allowing certain Class 2 Inactive Hazardous Waste and RCRA sites to participate in the program and the addition of a BCP “EZ” Program for sites that are deemed to have a non-significant threat.

Overall, the BCP program will continue to provide significant incentives to redevelop brownfield properties. There are, however, potentially significant incentives for companies to get their BCP applications approved prior to July 1, 2015, and we urge you to act now if you are considering entering the program.